By no means am I an expert but based on what I've read/seen over the course of the year from various outlets, I'm going to give my opinions on this top 30. Feel free to disagree/correct me. First, it seems after the top 3 of Yakupov, Galchenyuk, and Murray there is a noticable drop off in potential. Grigorenko at 4 is interesting since he seems to possess a lot of talent but a lot of people question his work ethic. I don't know what the truth is but his stock has fallen over the past few months. Secondly, I'd say the next big talent group is the guys 4-12 on that list. After that there seems to be a big drop off in potential talent. Lastly, I have to say I'm a big fan of defensemen Trouba, Reinhart, Dumba, and Ceci. It should be interesting to see where they go in the draft, could be some good value there for a team picking in the latter part of the first half. I also have my eyes on European forwards Forsberg, Teravainen, and Collberg. From what I've read they could make the teams that draft them satisfied.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

Dane Fox and Colton Sissons are both apparently on NJD draft watch according to some CHL followers. The Devils have apparently met with both players. Sissons is a talented agitator/power forward who is also a right shot RW. Fox is a two way agitator with pretty good skillset. Brock really likes Fox.

"Sources in Russia say that CSKA is very likely to make a big play for Grigorenko. If true, this should plunge his draft stock."

I find it hard to take Button seriously after he predicted Larsson to fall to the senators at 6th last year. I don't remember it exactly, but his reasoning for why the Devils would pass on him was kind of flimsy.

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Official NJDevs.com Keeper of Gory Corey Schwab, Mike Peluso, Troy Crowder, Jeff Frazee, and Rich Shulmistra."The Devils are that zombie that takes an ax to the skull, a bullet to the temple and is set on fire … and yet keeps lumbering along to the annoyance of all the other zombies." - Puck Daddy

Dane Fox and Colton Sissons are both apparently on NJD draft watch according to some CHL followers. The Devils have apparently met with both players. Sissons is a talented agitator/power forward who is also a right shot RW. Fox is a two way agitator with pretty good skillset. Brock really likes Fox.

And really, it's a one-man top tier — Nail Yakupov — followed by a second tier of seven guys who could be placed in any order and we'd be fine with it. It really just comes down to the particular needs of the teams drafting in those positions.

We would select Filip Forsberg at No. 2 overall if placed in the Columbus Blue Jackets' position. Forsberg offers a great combination of being a safe pick who is nearly certain to pan out into a top six winger, plus the upside of being a tough warrior who competes intensely every shift and could be a big-time sniper with his great shot. Reminds us of Erik Cole in many ways.

After that, we have the big three on defense from out west: Matt Dumba, Ryan Murray and Morgan Rielly. We believe Rielly is the most purely skilled of the three with the highest upside, but it would take courage for any general manager/chief scout combo to take him in the top three since knee surgery cost him the last 5½ months of the season and he played only five playoff games at the end of the year on which to base a final evaluation.

Similarly, a grouping of three highly skilled forwards — Alex Galchenyuk, Teuvo Teravainen and Mikhail Grigorenko — could all find their way into the top five. But this time, Galchenyuk, who missed 5½ months with a knee injury before coming back for a brief playoff stint, might be the safest pick of the three. That's because while the other two are supremely skilled (they are right up there with Yakupov on pure skills), both have questions about their intensity level and emotional commitment.

Click the link to see the top 10, notes on those players as well as risers and fallers.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

I don't think the top fifty draft picks are going to have much releveance to us this year

Very true, yet I still enjoy following the generic prospect landscape and seeing where guys end up. One thing that I like about Corey Pronman of Hockey Prospectus, is that his rankings always differ from most lists out there. Craig Button at TSN is another guy whose lists tend to cause some sort of reaction in people.

I can't wait for the draft. I already got my Future Considerations draft guide here. I've been getting it for a few years and I must say I'm always pleased with the product. This years issue features a Top 210 prospect ranking, various opinion articles, full page reports on the top 30 prospects, reports on the 31-125 ranked prospects, notes on the 126-200 ranked prospects, extensive sleeper and overager sections, a mock draft for the first 2 rounds, a top 30 for 2013 with info on those prospects, and a top 10 for 2014 with info on those guys. Also it is worth noting that our own prospect expert, Jason MacIsaac, is a scout and contributor for Future Considerations. Great work Jason!

I've heard good things about McKeen's draft guide and some of the other companies out there but the only other draft guide I'm considering is Hockey Prospect's digital blackbook. I know nothing about them but its advertised as over 330 pages of prospect and individual game reports - over 250 prospect reports for the 2012 draft, 125 prospects for the 2013 draft, 100 game reports, 7 round player rankings for the 2012 draft, and a top 30 for the 2013 draft.

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RIP Pat Burns -- RIP Alexander Vasyunov and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Winner of the 2008 Sergei Brylin Award for Most Underrated Poster
Co-Winner of the 2011 Scott Bertoli Award for Best Minor League Poster, Winner of the 2012 Scott Bertoli Award

This forum is pretty much pointless for devils fans unless youre talking late 2nd and 3rd round picks.

This kid Samuelsson on the Edmonton Oil Kings looked amazing in the Memorial Cup Tournament. He should go late in the second round maybe we can snatch him. He is ranked 75th but his stock should rise after his recent performance.

Assuming for some reason the Devils DON'T give up their pick, I'd love to see them take Jarrod Maidens, although with the way his stock has fallen they could legitimately have a shot at taking him in the 2nd. I feel like he'd be a perfect fit in NJ.

Sorry, I try to avoid the boards during playoff time and didn't see this thread gain some traction.

I wouldn't touch Girgorenko with an early pick, if he were to fall past 6 I think you are tempted to go for the home run pick but his consistency and effort level doesn't impress me. Grigorenko was probably used in all offensive situations as well so he probably has similar minute ratios to Malkin.

I really liked Kamaev and Culkin all season long and they will fall right around our 3rd round. Depending on the work Hudon puts into his quickness and speed he may be worth a 2nd/3rd round gamble. His hockey sense is excellent with and without the puck, he knows how to create offense.

As for one mid round pick I would love for NJ to select Quebec goaltender Francois Brassard. He is silky smooth in his movements, almost nonchalant. He has OK size and plays Roy like butterfly.

As for a super sleeper late in the draft I like Lalancette. He was stuck behind O'Brien and got tougher zone starts, no PP1 icetime and second line icetime. He plays a cerebral smart game and is a good playmaker, he seems soft however.